Hawaii

November 5-28, 2011

November 6 - 'Iao Valley - 'Iao Valley Garden

After our hike along the Nature Center trail we decided to have lunch at the Korean garden near the center. The gardens were beautiful and there were lots of people enjoying the covered picnic areas with their families. This was our first introduction to the picnics of locals which always included flame grilled meats and fish and the smell wafting over from the other shelters made us want to go and join them! After our lunch we walked around the gardens before leaving the 'Iao Valley.

Entrance to the Korean garden in the 'Iao Valley.

A couple of red-crested cardinals (paroaria coronata).

Common myna (Acridotheres tristis).

A picnic lunch after our hike.

A cool looking spider in our picnic shelter. (Agriope appensa, locally known as a garden spider).  
There appears to be both a larger female and a smaller male in the web.

A giant Banyan tree... the first of many we'd see on the trip.

 
The kids loved climbing and hiding around the aerial roots.

We almost lost the kids in the Banyan tree!

Christopher getting a water refill.

After lunch we walked around the gardens for a bit.

A large toad or frog hiding under the rocks.

A little salamander.

Taro grown in irrigated terraces.

An example of a traditional 'hale' (house).

We were admiring this fruit and trying to figure out if it was edible when a local stopped and told us it was 'breadfruit' (artocarpus altilis) and that they often cook it. The name is derived from the texture of the cooked fruit, which has a potato-like flavor, similar to fresh-baked bread.

A zebra dove (geopelia striata) also known as Barred Ground dove. Introduced in Hawaii in 1922.

Older banyan trees are characterized by their aerial prop roots that grow into thick woody trunks.

Decorative tiles around the window of one of the houses in the garden. This looks more portuguese than korean or hawaiian!

A shrine within the Korean garden.

The kids would like to go for a ride...

A beautiful pagoda in the Korean garden.

Leaving the gardens and the 'Iao Valley.

[ Driving to the 'Iao Valley | The 'Iao Needle | 'Iao Valley Nature Trail | 'Iao Valley Garden | 'Iao Valley to Haleakela ]

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